Another year in the doldrums for air cargo

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned it expects 2012 to be a tougher year for the airline industry, with slim profits and tighter margins ahead.

Director General and CEO Tony Tyler admitted: “It looks like we are headed for another year in the doldrums.
“With business confidence declining, it is difficult to see any potential for significant profitable growth.”

Tyler said that, despite high oil prices and economic uncertainty, “airlines are going to make a little more money in 2011 than we thought”, but added: “However, given the weak global economies, it won’t be much.

“While airline profits may rise from the US$4 billion projected in June to $6.9 billion, we should keep the improvement in perspective.

“The $2.9 billion bottom-line improvement is equal to about a half a percent of revenue. And the margin is a paltry 1.2%.

“Airlines are competing in a very tough environment.”

IATA emphasised that despite the improvements, profitability was still exceptionally weak, considering the industry’s total revenues of $594 billion.

It said air freight had stagnated since the start of this year and had slashed its full-year volume growth projection from 5.5% to 1.4%.

Airlines are expected to carry 46.4 million tonnes of cargo in 2011, down from the previous forecast of 48.2 million. Air cargo volumes reached their post-recession peak in May 2010, largely driven by re-stocking. This July, traffic was 4% lower than that level, said IATA.

Source: IFW

Swiss transport costs expected to rise in 2012

Costs in the Swiss transport sector are continuing to rise. "In addition to the strong franc, state requirements and fiscal burdens, in particular, are having a negative impact," criticises the Swiss commercial vehicles association Astag. They include the imposed introduction of a night-shift allowance and an inflation adjustment of the heavy vehicle fee as of 1 January 2012. Astag expects transport prices to rise by 3 to 5% in general cargo and overland traffic next year.



Source: Trans Maritime AG

Pilots found after fatal crash

Searchers found the bodies today of two pilots killed when their cargo aircraft crashed last week in a remote part of Eastern Indonesia.

The pair were named as Australian David Cootes and Slovakian Thomas Munk. They went missing on Friday in their Susi Air Cessna 208-B was lost from radar over the mountainous Yahukimo district of West Papua after departing from nearby Wamena.

Thick fog and bad weather had prevented search and rescue teams from getting to the remote crash site earlier.



Source:      IFW

French green tax on trucks will raise a billion a year

France’s public agency for the funding of transport infrastructure, the AFITF, estimates that the“green” tax levied on hgvs will generate annual revenue  of €1.24 billion (US1.68bn) after it is introduced from mid-2013.

The French government has awarded a tender to a consortium, led by Italian group Autostrade per l’Italia, to collect the tax through a satellite-based toll system.

State-owned SNCF, the country’s biggest road and rail freight carrier, is a minority partner in the consortium.

The tax will be levied on commercial vehicles of more than 3.5 tonnes at an average rate of €0.12 per km.

It will affect around 600,000 French trucks and 200,000 foreign-registered vehicles, plying over 12,000km of French highways – the aim being to encourage shippers to use modes of transport other than road.

The scheme would make provision for vehicles to be equipped with special badges enabling them to be tracked by satellite.

France’s leading road haulage federation, the FNTR, has opposed the tax since it was first mooted, estimating that it will add 5-10% to trucking firms’ operating costs.

The Autostrade consortium would collect an annual fee of €240 million for running the scheme and local authorities, which have responsibility for the upkeep of public roads, would receive €160 million. The remainder of the €1.24 billion income will go towards financing new transport infrastructure projects.

The tax scheme, initially earmarked for introduction between 2010-2012, has been put back on several occasions, due largely to technical problems.





Source:            IFW